Review: DUEL REALITY at The Seattle Rep

Dear Readers, if you were lucky enough to catch the circus arts troupe The 7 Fingers at the Rep back in 2023 with their thrilling “Passengers” show then you know how amazing they are, and you know why the Rep chose to bring them back.  But if you missed them back then (or even if you didn’t) now’s your chance to catch them again as they are back in town with their latest offering, “Duel Reality”.  And just as before, they’re here to make us gasp, cheer, and even feel with their sometimes death-defying antics.

If you remember the previous show, it was all about people on a train.  There were some story elements to it, but more like a series of vignettes.  With “Duel Reality” they’re tackling one story, and one of the most famous stories at that, William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.  Now, I’ve seen many different kinds of productions of “Romeo and Juliet” over the years.  Straight up performances of the text, a production with deaf and hearing actors incorporating sign language, and even a musical burlesque version to name just a few.  But The 7 Fingers have handled the piece in their own style.  Yes, there is some of the Shakespearean text involved, spoken and projected, to get the story moving, but for the most part the story is told without the aid of speech but through movement, acrobatics, juggling, and all sorts of circus arts. 

The show brilliantly starts off by separating the audience into the two camps of the Montagues and the Capulets with lighting and colored wrist bands.  It’s a great way to get the audience invested in your story.  The only thing better would be to seat the audience on stage with you.  Oh wait, they do that too.  Not everyone, but some lucky enough to get a ticket for that.  And then the animosity between the families begins with fights that break out in the audience, eventually making it up to the stage and then being treated as a tournament, complete with a referee.  But, of course, eventually those two crazy kids, Romeo and Juliet, see each other across a crowded room and the romance begins. 

And amidst all that romance there are pole walkers, jugglers, hoop dancers, see-saw flyers and more to keep us cheering for our respective houses.  And this troupe of performers (Daniela Corradi, Carlos Francos Péré, Adam Fullick, Gerardo Gutiérrez Flores, Michelle Hernandez, Einar Kling Odencrants, Miliève Modin-Brisebois, Anton Erik Persson, Méghane Poulet, Santiago Rivera Laugerud, Ashleigh Roper, and Arata Urawa) do keep us cheering.  Everyone has their favorites but mine were the jugglers, Corradi and Laugerud, with their dueling balls and pins.  However, who doesn’t love the lovers, Flores and Hernandez?  Especially with their high-flying trapeze routine ending in a spectacle of lights to celebrate their love.

That’s just a mere taste of what’s in store for you.  Written, directed, and choreographed by Shana Carroll and with original songs from Colin Gangé and Ricardo Isaias Collier, the show manages a beautiful retelling of the classic tale for Shakespeare lovers and non-lovers alike.  And with a 70-minute run time and only some mimicked violence, this could be a great one to bring the older kids to as well.  And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give The Seattle Rep’s production of The 7 Fingers’ “Duel Reality” a “how close did her face come to hitting the ground?!” YAY+.  A super fun show from a stunning troupe with an AWWWWW of an ending to send you off into the world.

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